Quick-thinking Ulster Bank staff managed to stop a scam which could have cost an elderly lady £20,000.

Police have praised the alert staff members who managed to intercept and stop the scam at the last minute despite the elderly lady struggling to understand that she was being conned.

Officers are urging the public to keep an eye on their elderly neighbours and relatives and warn them of potential scams.

In a statement on PSNI Magherafelt, a spokesperson said: "We dealt with an incident today where an older lady was almost scammed out of £20,000. Only the alertness of Ulster Bank staff stopped the scam right at the last minute.

"Even at that stage the lady struggled to accept she was being defrauded. Many struggle to get their head around how it ever gets to the stage where you wilfully give away tens of thousands of pounds without question.

"But take a moment to think of older family, friends or neighbours. Those who are maybe more trusting and less cynical than you.

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"People who don't use the internet, who have never heard of a phishing scam, who don’t see all the scam warnings. People who were brought up in a much more trusting time, genuinely decent people who struggle to see the bad in anybody, people who aren’t on their guard at all times, yes think about it, you know plenty of these people.

"Well these people aren't just people, they are your grannies and grandas, the older lady across the road, the retired care taker down the street, they are the ones who are being relentlessly targeted by the phone scammers."

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The statement added: "We all have a duty to talk to them and warn them of the dangers, take the time to explain that these calls are happening all the time, help and guide them, assist them in setting up call blockers, talk to them about how these scams are designed to sound completely genuine and extremely plausible.